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Abstract

Cancer remains a deadly affliction for millions across the United States, and the number of new cases is only expected to rise in the years to come. In the field of anticancer research, vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) that preferentially target the tumor vasculature show great promise. The naturally occurring combretastatins, especially combretastatin A-4 (CA4) and combretastatin A-1 (CA1), in suitable prodrug form, have proven to be highly effective VDAs. In this study, efforts were directed towards the synthesis of two combretastatin analogs bearing key features of CA4 on a dihydronaphthalene framework: Oxi 6196 and a beta-dihydronaphthalene analog. In addition to VDAs, another class of exciting anticancer drugs is bioreductive agents that are selectively targeted towards the hypoxic region of tumors. These compounds are chemically reduced selectively and intracellularly to form active cytotoxic compounds. This study also presents the design and synthesis of two analogs of indolequinone-based prodrugs, which can be triggered to release an attached VDA upon bioreductive activation from the 3- or the 2-position, as well as the attempted synthesis of a CA4-tirapazamine bioconjugate drug.